The Best Mistake I Ever Made
by Pontius Pilates
Summary: Rachael Roth needs a date, and Garfield Logan needs to NOT get sued.
1. Chapter 1

Okay, so I may have done something a liiittle stupid.

But hey! I was desperate! And desperate people do desperate things. I should probably preface this by saying that I'm not normally a stupid person. In fact, I'm quite bright. I graduated at the top of my class in high school AND College and I'm a successful young editor living in Jump City. I wouldn't say I have THE life, but I sure do have a pretty good life. The only thing missing?

A boyfriend. You see, I'm not the most open person. In fact, I'd describe myself as an oyster. Hard to pry open, but occasionally there's a pearl in there: emphasis on the occasional. Most of the time, guys give up after the third date. And normally, I'm okay with that. I'm a strong, wealthy young woman and I'd be lying if I said I needed a man to complete me.

But. I do need one to show up to my best friend's wedding with me. I mean, it's not that I'll die without one. But, let's be honest I'm not getting any younger and the things people say about me just…aren't very nice. Showing up with a guy to Kori's wedding would be a great confidence boost AND a great way to dispel all those nasty rumors.

So I thought, why not just hire a guy?

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When I woke up that morning, I wasn't exactly expecting to go out and find myself a male hooker. In fact, all I really wanted was some tea from this café by my apartment. But I digress. I'm not really into fashion so I threw on a loose black dress, some dark blue boots and a sweater on and ran a comb through my dyed violet hair. You know, the typical "I only sort of care what you think of me" daywear.

I made my way down to the lobby of my building and hurried out the door, eager to get a fresh cup of tea before the café got too crowded. I walked down the block, my laptop cradled in my arms; I had a lot of work to do after all.

When I finally reached the café I was surprised to see that it was crowded, which ruined any prospective chances of me getting any work done while I was there. Sighing, I decided to just buy some tea to go and walk back home.

I got in line behind a couple distastefully expressing their love for one another. Gross. Some might say that's the jealousy in me talking, but in reality it's just common decency not to shove your tongue down someone's throat in a public place. Bored, I decided to check my phone.

_(1) New Message from _Kori Anders_!_

I groaned. I could already tell it was going to be some mushy photo of Kori and her fiancé Richard Grayson. Kori had met Richard at the college we went to. I was her roommate and despite owning a literal mansion a mere block away, Richard had been our dorm's R.A. Richard and Kori met each other through some freshman experience thing that I didn't go to but heard was just great. Long story short, the two have been inseparably gross since that day.

I decided to hold off on opening the message because I wasn't exactly in the mood to have someone's relationship shoved in my face that early in the morning (see obnoxious PDA couple from above).

"Ah, Miss Roth. Let me guess, an Earl Grey right?" the barista said, smiling at me. I thought to myself, '_Oh dear God do I really come here that often?'_. Begrudgingly, I smiled, nodded and handed the cashier my card. I really needed to try some other cafés.

While I was waiting for my tea I decided to check Kori's message. I could only imagine its content; probably some group chat raving about the time the two went to Peru to save some orphans or something. They're _those_ types of people. Instead, however, I was greeted with:

_dick and i got into an argument regarding the weddng __ can u come over? _

Shit. I couldn't exactly say no considering I am technically her maid of honor…but my tea. Groaning, I grabbed my cup of tea and began heading toward the door. I was in a bit of a rush so I will admit; I wasn't exactly looking where I was going.

That's when _it_ happened.

As I was exited the café, _he_ entered. This of course would spell disaster. By the time I even saw him it was too late. Our bodies slammed against each other and I felt myself fall back. I felt my laptop escape from my grasp, along with my cup of tea. The mysterious guy fell back as well but as far as I'm concerned, he didn't have any valuables literally fly out of his hands. I reached out to try and save my laptop, but it was already too late. It had crashed against the ground in a distorted mess and to make sure it was really dead, my cup of tea bounced on top of it, drowning it in a hot blend of Earl Grey.

Fuck.

I saw his eyes open wide and his mouth scream out, "Oh shit." But alas, that couldn't save my now dead laptop. The laptop I had used for all my work, ruined. All its documents gone, all of my hard work, destroyed on the floor of my favorite café. I was almost too traumatized to get up.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" The man said, offering me his hand. I couldn't even look at him; my eyes refused to look away from the wreck that was my laptop. Instead of waiting for me to answer, the man pulled me up by my arm and I was jolted into reality.

"All of my work was on that laptop." I manage to squeak out. The man visibly winced.

"I am so sorry. I can't believe this happened Miss, I really-"

"All of my work. Was on that laptop." I said, staring at the lifeless piece of metal on the ground.

"Er, yeah I heard that the first time you said it, I get it. Is there anything I can do?" the man asked. It was at this point I decided to look at him.

He has slightly wavy blonde hair brushed to the side of his face. His skin was slightly tanned and he was definitely taller than I was, probably about 5'11. He wasn't exactly unattractive to say the least.

"Can you resurrect my laptop?" I snapped, gathering its remains off the floor. The poor thing only lasted two years. Then I remembered Kori. Shit.

"Listen, I don't really have time to calculate how much you owe me but here's my name and number, I'll call you later." I quickly said, writing my name and number on a napkin for him. I shoved it into his hands and sped out the door as he looked on.

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Garfield

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Let me just say, this wasn't my fault. I was just trying to get a coffee to, y'know, cure my hangover and this chick came running into me! If anything, it's mostly her fault. I mean, she should have been looking up or something. But anyway, let me start off with how my day started.

It was a usual Sunday morning. I had just woken up after a night of partying with my buddy/roommate Vic Stone. He's a pretty chill guy and unlike me, he knows how to handle his liquor. So I wake up that morning with a killer headache, it was so bad I could hardly think. I'm barely functioning right.

I hobbled over the kitchen where Vic was making his usual breakfast: eggs, bacon and sausage. A great meal for meat eaters, but for a vegetarian it wasn't exactly a cup of tea. In fact, every time Vic makes his stupid carnivorous breakfast, I wanted to gag. How he can eat innocent animals and sleep soundly at night boggles my mind but whatever. So I ambled into the kitchen and I asked Vic to make me a cup of coffee.

"Sorry green bean, but we're out. Looks like you're gonna have to take a walk to that café downstairs." Victor said, whistling as he slid his meal off the frying pan. Normally I would play it off as Vic joking, but I soon realized he was being serious.

"Dude really? Did you drink it all our something?!" I exclaimed. Unlike Victor, I only drank coffee when I was really hung over.

"Sorry dude. Some fresh air might do you good anyway." Victor laughed as I glared at him. Grumbling about the unfairness of it all, I opened our front door and walked to the elevator. Thankfully, the ride didn't take long as we live on the fourth floor of this building. Stepping out, I groaned as a wave of pain passed over me.

Normally I don't get as drunk as I got last night but I couldn't help it after what happened with _Tara_. The only way I could get over what happened was downing an entire bottle of vodka and hey, it was fun yesterday. Today? Not so much. I ambled over to the little café, not really paying attention to my surroundings, which I totally regret because had I been paying attention to my surroundings, _this_ wouldn't have happened.

Seconds after opening the door, I felt my body collide with someone else's. Because I was a lot bigger than the person I ran into, I didn't really feel the impact as much as they did and boy am I glad I didn't. Immediately after colliding, the girl almost flew back and the laptop and tea that were in her hands flew into the air. I knew this wasn't going to be good.

"Oh shit."

I watched as her laptop shattered on the ground and I visibly cringed when her tea landed on top of the mangled mess. Even though this clearly was not my fault, I quickly extended my hand out to her.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" I quickly asked. Instead of waiting, I grabbed the girl's hand without her so much as even glancing at me.

"All of my work was on that laptop." She said breathlessly. Oh my god she looked like she was about to cry. I had to say something to try and console her.

"I am so sorry. I can't believe this happened Miss, I really-"

"All of my work. Was on that laptop." She repeated, staring at the mangled mess before us.

"Er, yeah I heard that the first time you said it, I get it. Is there anything I can do?" I said, now eager to escape. Of course this had to happen. She was probably going to sue me for every cent I have. Which, considering my student loan payments, is about zero. It was then that I really looked at her. The girl was pale and a lot shorter than I. She had dazzling blue eyes and her dark lips were full and plump. Her hair was cropped and purple and she had an _extremely_ nice figure.

"Can you resurrect my laptop?" She snapped, gathering what remained of it in her hands. Jeez. That was harsh. However, before I could say anything, the girl let out a deep sigh.

"Listen, I don't really have time to calculate how much you owe me but here's my name and number, I'll call you later." She quickly jotted down her name and number on a napkin lying around in swirly purple ink.

"Uh, sure?" I said as she practically ran out the café. I grabbed the napkin she left behind and read her credentials. _Rachael Roth 556-8906. _

Rachael Roth, huh? I felt like I heard that name before.


	2. Chapter 2

"Gee, Kori, I'm really sorry about that." I said, awkwardly patting my redheaded friend's shoulder. I never knew what to do in situations like this. I mean, I was so good at reading people's emotions, but when it came to comforting them I went blank. It was as if my brain knew what to do buy the rest of my body wasn't responding. So there we sat, on the edge of Kori's bed and her obnoxious Yorkshire terrier in her lap. God that thing disgusted me.

"I…just do not understand why he's so upset!" Kori wailed, sobbing in between words. Evidently, Kori's darling husband was upset at the wedding budget. You see, Kori's not from this country and where she's from, a wedding is a huge deal. Not only did it have to be big, but all of her family had to be there. Even the family she didn't even know she had. Being the kind natured person she is, Kori graciously offered to pay for their airfare. This is where it because a problem for Richard. See, Dick likes to save money (despite the fact that he's rolling in it, but that's neither here nor there) and when he found out that he would basically be footing the bill for Kori's relatives to stay here, he freaked out. Which is understandable in my honest opinion. But I obviously couldn't tell Kori that. So I told her what any good friend would.

"He's a terrible guy and I never liked him." I said proudly. I wasn't really good at being this whole "friendship" thing and finally coming through for once sure made me feel good.

"Rachel…thank you so much for the consoling. I know you do not like the "clubbing" or parties but I would very much enjoy it if we went out tonight." Kori said, looking up at me with puppy dog eyes. I sighed. I wanted to just refuse and stay at home. After all, parties and clubs were always too loud; I much preferred the soothing silence of my own apartment. Plus, considering the state of my laptop, I did have a lot of work to do. But…I don't know… Kori sounded really upset.

So I decided to swallow my pride. For Kori…she totally owed me one.

"Fine."

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[]Garfield []

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"Vic, you don't even know how screwed I am." I sighed.

After nearly running over that tiny demon woman, I decided to forgo my coffee and hurry back home instead. I mean, considering how much damage I did to her laptop, I wasn't even sure if I would have the money to pay for my coffee. Why did everything have to happen at such a bad time? First, Tara cheats on me, now this? I barely make enough money to make ends meet as it is.

"Hey man, I keep telling you to pay attention to your surroundings! Now look where you got yourself." Vic said smugly. I glared at him. Whadda friend. Annoyed, I got up from my seat on the couch and made my way towards my room.

"Aw, listen man, I'm just messing with you. Tell you what, Karen's visiting her mom tonight, how about I treat you to a night out in town?" Victor said. Now that really piqued my interest. I mean, I know I went out last night and that was kind of the reason I'm in this whole mess now but hey, a man's gotta party. So I said what any good friend interested in free things would say.

"Hell yeah dude!"

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[]Rachel[]

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I was already uncomfortable. Kori made me change three times. THREE TIMES. I thought what I was wearing was fine. But nooo. Kori insisted that I looked like I was going to a funeral. And you know, I might as well have been. My dignity was dying tonight.

…

Ok I just made myself cringe a little. Maybe I was being a little dramatic about this. I mean, the outfit Kori picked out for me looked nice and I was _really _enjoying these margaritas. Maybe tonight won't be so bad. Maybe I'll actually-

"Oh shit sorry!" I heard someone say as they bumped into me. Oh no. Not that voice again. It wasn't. It couldn't be.

"Wow. What a coincidence." I said dryly. In front of me was the man who had completely destroyed my laptop and all of my hard work.

"Aw fuck. I went out so I wouldn't have to deal with this problem and look at that…you're here." The man said bitterly. I wasn't sure if I could actually be more offended.

"Hey, it's your fault!" I said defensively, crossing my arms. I mean, what kind of idiot doesn't look up when they're walking? The man groaned.

"Listen- Rachael, was it?" I rolled my eyes and nodded.

"Right. I have a lot of debt to pay off. I would say I'm in about 50K. Just from student loans. I don't really have the spare cash to just give you. I mean, I don't want to play the blame game but someone did come barreling out of that café pretty darn fast." He said smugly. I narrowed my eyes at him. I couldn't believe what an asshole he was!

"You know, Mr…whatever your name is-"

"Garfield"

"Right, Garfield, I have my own bills to pay ok? You just so happened to break my only source of income. I need to be compensated for that. You were the one who walked into the café without looking in the first place! Besides, if you don't have any money, what are you doing in a place like this?" I said snidely. Meanwhile, I tried to keep my eye out for Kori. I hadn't actually seen her at all since we got here. I was really hoping she hadn't gotten into too much trouble while I was gone.

"My friend paid for me! Unlike you, I actually have friends." He said confidently. Now he was really starting to make me angry.

"If you must know, I came here with my friend too." I said, indignant.

"Oh really? Then where is she?" I paused. That was a really good question. It really shouldn't be that hard to spot a vibrant red headed girl.

"She's-" and it was at that moment that his answer was questioned. There on one of the tables was Kori with a wide smile on my face.

And at the table sat Richard.

"She's right there." I said quietly as Richard lifted her at the table. The two looked genuinely happy. Quite surprising for a couple that was literally about to break off their engagement.

"Oh! Richard! There is Rachel!" Kori said, giggling. I sighed and rubbed my temple. I could only imagine the mess her bachelorette party was going to be.

"Hi Kori. I see you two have made up?" Kori and Richard glanced at each other and smiled. I wanted to gag.

"Oh yes! This is the most exciting part, friend." Kori said, hiccupping. "We moved the wedding to next month!" She squealed.

My jaw dropped. Next month? Was she crazy? God I needed another drink.

"I'm sorry what? What about the venues? The caterers, the guests, the-"

"Don't worry Rachel, I've got everything covered." Richard said, giving me a polite smile. I narrowed my eyes. These two were going to kill me.

"Um. Wow. Ok. Next month. Jesus Christ." I said, rubbing my temples.

"Friend, we are going to leave now, do you need a ride?" Kori said. I definitely did not want to be stuck in a car with those two. I was already disgusted as it is.

"No, I'll find my own way home. See you later I guess." The two of them left and I turned around only to still see Garfield standing behind me.

"Sooo. How about I give you a ride and we can forget all about that pesky laptop, huh?" Garfield said, smiling. I gave him a look of disgust. But…that did turn some gears in my head. I actually had a better idea.

"First of all, you seem like you're buzzed and considering you already run people over when you're sober and walking, I'd rather not see what you're like when you're drunk and driving." He pouted. "But I do have a better way you can repay me."

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[]Garfield[]

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"You want me to be your escort?" I shouted. Rachel's eyes widened and she quickly glared at me. Oops.

"Would you be quiet?! And I'm not asking you to have sex with me, God no. All I'm asking is that you take me to my friend's wedding." She said, arms crossed across her chest. I stared at her. She couldn't be serious right? I mean, how pathetic do you have to be to bribe someone to be your date to your friends wedding.

"Uh…I'm not sure about this…" I said, hesitating.

"I know what you're thinking. 'She must be so pathetic'. But I have no interest in dating. I haven't had a boyfriend since I was 19 and that ended terribly. But I do need to show up to my best friend's wedding with someone. And I don't want this to inflate your ego, but you're a conventionally attractive male and it would be nice to bring someone good-looking to the wedding." She explained. I smirked. I was still hesitant though. I mean, I barely knew this girl's name, how could I be her date?

"I still don't know. I mean, we hardly know each other." I said. She shrugged.

"Fine. Then I'm demanding you give me $2000 for my laptop right now." Fuck. I had no choice in this, did I?

"Fine. I'll be your stupid date." She smiled at me.

"Excellent. Now, you do bring up a good point, we _don't_ know each other. We need to meet up and flesh out this fake relationship and of course you must accompany me to the wedding rehearsal dinner. But luckily for you, I'm a writer and I can definitely fabricate an impressive relationship. And once this is all over I can just say we bitterly broke up and we'll never have to see each other again."


	3. Chapter 3

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[]Rachel[]

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I woke up with a really terrible headache the next morning, which pretty much reminded me why I don't normally drink in the first place. Every time I have the slightest bit of alcohol I have such a painful headache the next day. This has always led me to believe that I feel things a little bit more intensely than other people do. Groaning, I crawled out of my bed and glanced at the clock. 9:30 a.m.

I wasn't in a rush to leave or anything. My work was at home. Though, at some point I really needed to get a new laptop.

I'll admit, being home all day by myself gets just a little bit lonesome at times; very rarely though. In fact, I take that back. I love being by myself all day. Sure, I can go hours without talking to a living person but I like the silence. I like being able to hear my own thoughts and get in touch with myself. Other people just don't understand that.

And I love the fact that I can meditate every morning without a single person bothering me. In college, I never got to meditate. What with Kori always interrupting. She is my closest friend, but she happens to be one of the loudest ones I have. Smiling, I shook my head and made my way to the bathroom. After last night, I felt completely grimy. I mean, was I really so drunk that I asked some random guy to be my escort? I have to add that to my list of why I should never drink again.

The worst part is, I can't back out now. Not that I would let him know this but I felt sorry for Garfield. Buying a new laptop for me is nothing, just chump change. But he genuinely seemed like he couldn't afford that. And I can't exact swallow my pride and say "Hey, I was being a drunk idiot, let's just forget about this whole escort deal, okay?" because there really did need to be some form of compensation.

I sighed again and stepped into the shower, reveling in the hot water pouring down on me. I ran my fingers through my dark violet hair and scrubbed every single inch of my body. As I stepped out of the shower I heard my phone ringing. I figured that must be Kori considering she now had a lot more work to do since she moved the wedding up to next month so I rushed to answer it.

Imagine my disappointment when it turned out to be Garfield.

"Hey, so I was wondering if you wanted to up today. Like right now preferably." He said over the phone. My eyes widened.

"What? Are you serious?" I exclaimed.

"Yes! I'll be on my break in like thirty minutes and after that I won't get out of here until at least ten so unless you want me to come over to your place and crash there for the night- because walking the streets at night is dangerous when you're as gorgeous as I am and I really can't afford that-" I rolled my eyes in disgust. "We should probably meet up now." I bit my lip. I really did have a lot of work to do. But I also didn't want Garfield knowing where I lived, let alone staying there.

"Okay. Fine. Meet me at Jump Park at 10 okay?" I said, exasperated. I could already feel my energy draining.

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[]Garfield[]

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I love animals. I really do. But working around them all day really gets me drained, y'know? I mean, don't get me wrong they're adorable and cute and fun but chasing after a cat with one leg while trying to give it its shot isn't exactly fun. So I definitely loved the breaks I did get. Unfortunately I'd have to spend my break today with the demon queen.

That's my new nickname for her. Demon because she scares me, and queen because, while she does scare me, she totally seems like she could be the ruler of some rad underworld. I smiled to myself just thinking about it; God, I'm smart.

"Alright Paul, I'm taking my break. Try not to miss me, okay?" I said, smirking at the bald headed man. Paul was a funny guy. I sort of got the feeling he didn't like me but who knows! The glare he just gave me suggests tht he probably doesn't like me though. I shoved my hands into my pocket and began the walk to the park.

I couldn't believe I was really doing this. I knew this wasn't anything like actual prostitution, but it still felt weird. Maybe I just felt a little sorry for the girl. I mean she's what, 27? And she's only had one boyfriend? That's just sad. So I kinda felt like I was helping out the less unfortunate. Which made me a little proud.

I finally saw the park approaching and I looked out for a short girl with purple hair. For a woman who doesn't say much, she sure does stand out of the crowd. Finally I spotted her sitting on one of the park benches. She looked unhappy, and kept checking her phone.

"Hey Rachel!" I shouted, waving. For a second she looked like she smiled back too but maybe I just imagined that. She motioned for me to wait while she walked over. I noticed she was wearing a thick, black overcoat and had her hair pushed back behind her ears. It actually looked sort of nice on her.

"Hello, Mr… I actually don't know your last name. That's probably something I should know if we're going to pull this off." she said.

"Logan's my last name." I said, smiling. She didn't return my smile. Instead, she nodded quickly and narrowed her eyes.

"Rachel….Roach, right?" I said. I was praaaying I got that right. However, I could tell by her glare that I was way off track.

"Roth." She said stiffly. Right. Man, I swear I've heard that name before.

"Right! Roth huh? That sounds really familiar." I said, trying to remember where I heard that name before. Rachel looked uncomfortable for a moment before interrupting me.

"I'm a writer, perhaps you read one of my articles and my name just slipped into your subconscious." She said. Huh. Maybe it did. I nodded.

"So, when your friends-"

"Acquaintances."

"Riight, acquaintances ask how we met, what exactly are we saying?" I asked.

"Woah woah woah. I have to know a little bit about you before I start making up some story about how we 'fell in love'. I mean, I need to know what I should add when they ask where we met or something that you like." Rachel said. She did have a point.

"Fair enough. Uhh, my name's Garfield Logan. I'm 25 years young, I'm probably the best veterinarian in this city and uhhhh…. Wow this is kind of hard. That's all I got really." I said.

"…I think I can work with that. Now, I don't have a cat but let's just say I did, right before the tragic accident." Rachel said.

"The tragic accident?"

"Yes the tragic accident wherein poor Mephisto fell out the window of my apartment and I rushed to your clinic where you tried you hardest to save my poor cat but just couldn't." Rachel said. Okay, I can totally see how she's a writer. It was actually kind of impressive how quickly she came up with a story.

"So…?"

"So then, whilst I was crying over poor Mephisto's body you comforted me. You asked me on a date and in my emotional state I coldly rejected you."

"Uh…"

"But you persisted! Oh man did you persist! You called my phone everyday, you sent me emails, you sent me flowers. But alas, I could never love again." Rachel said darkly.

"I'm not really seeing-"

"Shhh. I'm working here. Then, finally you showed up at my house one night with a new Mephisto."

"A new one? You realize cat's don't work like that right? Right?"

"And I was so grateful I graciously accepted your date to thank you for my Mephisto II." Rachel said, breathing out.

"….I'm not really sure how I feel about that." I said after a moment.

"What? Are you kidding, that was great!" she said, glaring at me. I gulped. I didn't want to feel the wrath of tiny demon queen again, but I did have some issues with her story. For starters,

"If your cat really did fall out of the window, then I guarantee you that you wouldn't be able to pick him up and rush him to the clinic because he'd be a Mephisto pancake at that point." I brought up. She rolled her eyes.

"Fine, he had a tumor and died during surgery, are you happy now?" Rachael inquired. Not exactly.

"Also, I'm totally not that desperate! Can you make me seem a little bit more manly and less like some whipped guy from a romance novel?" I pleaded. I mean I actually have done that before. But Rachael didn't have to know that. For all she knew, I was Mr. Suave. I grinned just thinking about it.

"Ugh. Fine, you consoled me and insisted you take me out and me, being the innocent, fragile, lady I am accepted." Rachel said. I couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or not. It was then that I hard my alarm beeping. Shoot, time to get back to work.

"Listen, lovely story. Lots of plot holes though. Let's do this some other time, kay?" I said, turning in the opposite direction of her and making a run for it.


	4. Chapter 4

{{ Rachel }}

I decided to take a short walk after my meeting with Garfield. I liked walks because they gave me a chance to get some fresh air while think about things I needed to take care of, the most glaring problem in my life currently being Garfield. He didn't really give me much to work with, after all. Taking in the brisk air, I strolled along the park's lake and observed the ducks floating around. I wasn't too fond of animals but the ducks looked so peaceful I could almost sort of relate to Garfield's dedication to caring for them. Almost. I found myself unable to stop thinking about him, much to my disgust. I hadn't had a guy on my mind this much since Mal. I shuddered just hearing that name in my head.

Mal had been my ex-boyfriend. He was one of those good for nothing losers who desperately tried to impress my father. I remember my eighteen year old self absolutely pining for him. After all, he worked for my father and I knew he would absolutely loathe any sort of relationship between Mal and I. We'd ended up hooking up shortly after nineteenth birthday party, much to the disapproval of my father. I always hate to admit it but I absolutely loved the guy; he was charming, handsome and so attentive to my needs. Mal was basically everything I was looking for in a guy and for me, this was my first true love. But it wasn't Mal's. As it turned out I was just a pawn in Mal's stupid attempt to get closer to my father. I should have realized it sooner but hey, teenagers tend to be a little stupid when it comes to their first love. I only realized what a joke our relationship had been to him when my father got busted by the government. Shortly after losing my home, my father and my livelihood, I lost Mal. Apparently I had nothing to offer him if my father was in jail. It was probably the roughest time of my life but thank god I had Kori to help me get through it. It turned out that before dying my mother had saved some money for me and put it in a trust (something my father had failed to inform me of). I also got to keep the penthouse my father used to live in and at that point my life started to come together. I changed my last name to my mother's maiden name, got a job with the local newspaper and moved into my father's penthouse. Life was starting to look good.

My thoughts traced back to Garfield as I passed a pet shop on my way back to the penthouse. He was the complete opposite of Mal personality wise. Garfield was laid back and funny (at least, tries to be funny) while Mal was always serious and no nonsense. I guess in away I was attracted to that because Mal was essentially he Mal version of me. But hotter. I found myself wanting to know more about Garfield. Where did he come from? What was his story? Was he in a relationship? I blushed at the last question. It was almost embarrassing to say but I was actually kind of attracted to him. Gross, I know. He was probably the exact opposite of the type of guys I liked; y'know, dark hair, brooding and all that. I couldn't wait until this wedding was over with.

{{Garfield}}

"Let me get this straight: you agreed to be this girl's prostitute?!" Victor exclaimed. I rolled my eyes. I mean, he wasn't exactly wrong but when you put it like that..

"Hey! It's not super like that. I'm just gonna be her date for her friend's wedding." I said. I don't know why but I was weirdly compelled to defend Rachel. I'm not really the type of person for sappy stories but Rachel seemed like she had a lot of stuff going on in her life.

"Dude, don't you think that's weird? She's a grown woman and she has to blackmail someone just to get a date?" Vic replied.

"Okay, you're not WRONG but let's think of the pros: free drinks, a free meal and I don't have to pay for that stupid laptop." I pointed out. Vic gave a small smile.

"Alright, true enough, man. " he said, standing up from the couch.

"Are you going somewhere?"

"It's taco Tuesday man, remember? Karen and I are going out."

"Oh. Well have fun." I said, trying to hide the disappointment in my voice.

"Gotcha dude. Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone!" Vic said, smiling as he picked up his keys and left.

"No promises." I said as the door closed. I sighed. Vic had been spending a lot of time with Karen lately. It probably wouldn't be long before he popped the question and moved out. And to be fair, that was pretty much me when I was dating Tara.

Tara and I had met in undergrad. I was ten times more immature than I am now but she loved it. We were best friends, practically inseparable. Looking back now we were totally that obnoxious couple that shoved their love in everyone's faces but I definitely did not care. She was beautiful and smart and me but in girl form. I thought we were meant to be. And then she cheated on me. Multiple times. Granted she was drunk every time, but I was still devastated. She didn't even bother telling me! I had to find out from someone else! I mean, I'm glad she wasn't having an affair but goddammit she was the love of my life. I probably could have even forgiven her if she just owned up to it but she didn't and now we're here. The worst part is that she's not even a terrible person. She's just a friendly girl with a bit of drinking problem that ruined our almost ten year relationship.

It's actually sort of funny how different Rachel and Tara are. I'm pretty sure Tara would hate Rachel actually; she'd probably think she was too stuck up and needs to let loose. But Rachel's personality is kind of a breath of fresh air. Don't get me wrong I loved Tara more than anything in the world but she had a tendency to never take anything serious, probably why it was so easy for her to cheat on me. Rachel is so straight forward and focused and I sort of like it? Not to mention she's completely the opposite of Tara looks wise. Tara was tall, tanned and super skinny with beach blonde hair and a spattering of freckles across her face. Rachel on the other hand was short and curvy with extremely pale skin and dark violet hair.

I rose from my place on the couch and stretched my arms out. The apartment was pretty lonely without Vic. I yawned before checking my phone. I managed to get off work earlier than I expected so it was only 8. Maybe Rachel was free.


End file.
